A data switch, such as an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switch, communicates packets of information or cells between various components in a communication device. For example, a data switch may reside in a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM) to communicate cells between any number of subscriber interfaces and network interfaces. Typically, these switches use a cell buffer memory to store cells received from an originating location before communicating the cells to their destination.
Currently, memory technologies exist that may be suitable for use in a cell buffer memory of a data switch. For example a static random access memory (SRAM) provides high speed read/write access, but is relatively expensive. Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is a widely available and cost efficient solution, but suffers performance disadvantages that may impact the overall throughput of a switch.